An Aussie Relationship in IT

HELP University College s Department
of Information Technology is proud to
partner the University of Queensland
UQ School of Information and Electrical
Engineering ITEE for the last 14 years In
the 2011 QS Rankings UQ ranked 48th in the
world for Computer Science and Information
Systems
It s a little known secret that through a spe
cial arrangement HELP S Department of
Information Technology students can transfer
their credits to UQ s ITEE to study either
Information Technology or Engineering
HELP S IT Department offers the following
credit transfer arrangements with UQ
Bachelor of Information Technology 2 1 cred
it transfer Bachelor ofInformation Technology
Honours 2 2 credit transfer Bachelor of
Engineering Computer Systems Engineering
and Software Engineering 2 2 credit trans
fer
Undergraduate students who have com
pleted their degrees at HELP are also able to
transfer to UQ to continue their postgraduate
degrees in the Master of Computer Science
2 1 1 credit transfer and the Master of
Computer Science 3 1 credit transfer
The Bachelor of Engineering Bachelor of
Information Technology and Bachelor of
Information Technology with Honours are
provided as part of a distinctive credit transfer
arrangement with UQ
The Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of
Information Technology degrees are UQ s
internationally recognised specialist degrees
in engineering computer technology and
applications
The IT curriculum at HELP University College
has been carefully organised for the UQ path
way and provides opportunities for students
to further their studies in Australia
We have great confidence in HELP S IT
Department UQ s ITEE and HELP S IT
Departments have the same academic excel
lence and share the same values
Because of the understanding of academic
excellence and the potential of its academic
staff we chose to partner HELP says UQ s
School of ITEE Computer Science s Prof Paul
Bailes one of the key people instrumental in
establishing the relationship between HELP
and UQ
HELP S Department of Information
Technology specialises in Business Information
Management Mobile Computing and
Electronic Games Technology
The department offers a diploma in
Information Technology and four honours
undergraduate programmes the Bachelor of
Information Technology Hons the Bachelor
of Information Technology Hons specialising

in Business Information Management the

Bachelor of Computer Science Hons special

ising in Games and Interactive Media and the

Bachelor of Information Technology Hons

specialising in Mobile Computing

HELP S Department of FT works closely with

its global partners and IT professional bodies

to ensure that our curricula stay relevant to

current needs and future challenges says

HELP Department of Information Technology

acting head Dr Sien Ven Yu who completed

her Masters and PhD at UQ s 1TEE

HELP S Department of IT offers up to date

curricula based on industry needs

The syllabus prepares students for interna

tionally recognised certifications

There are many success stories from the

Department of Information Technology at

HELP The department was the first in Asia to

develop a WAP application software for educa

tion called College net Students have won

HSBC s Young IT Entrepreneur Awards the

Datamation Award for Innovative IT Research

and Development Projects the Dell Award for

Best Subject Performance and third prize in

the Microsoft Office Specialist Word XP

Challenge which saw the winner also repre

senting Malaysia in the grand finals in Orlando

the United States

HELP S IT facilities have been recognised by

the Multimedia Development Corporation as

consistently exceeding industry standards

There are also two special centres the

Mobile Technology Center and the Video

Games and Interactive Media VIGIM

Center

The former provides a platform for students

to acquire knowledge and skills in research

planning development and deployment of

mobile and wireless technologies while the

latter was established to facilitate the adoption

of the latest technology into IT education

In addition to standard curriculum topics

students are also stimulated to develop elec

tronic games throughout their studies

The VIGIM Center has also jointly held a

Video Games Symposia with the Asia Pacific

Institute of Broadcast Development and the

French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also

chaired the first ever Asian Games Developers

Forum

Al-Madinah International University a member in European Foundation for Quality in eLearning (EFQUEL)

Al-Madinah International University (MEDIU) has joined as a member in European Foundation for Quality in e-Learning (EFQUEL), which is based in Brussels, Belgium. The Foundation serves as a proactive network in providing valuable services to the worldwide e-Learning community. Thus, MEDIU’s hopes it will enhance the academic quality of e-Learning in MEDIU.

(EFQUEL) is joined by others elite European and Russian universities that are excellence in e-learning as well as some of the largest technology solutions companies around the world including Toshiba’s World.

MEDIU hopes through EFQUEL’s membership, it would increase bilateral cooperation and seek common experience and knowledge with other higher educational Institutions on the developments and issues relating to the field of e-Learning.

The approval granted by EFQUEL to MEDIU as a member, has shown the remarkable level Al-Madinah International University has reached. For more information, visit the following link;

http://www.efquel.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=99⟨=en

MEDIU won ‘Best Website Award for University College and Private University’ for the year 2010

Al-Madinah International University (MEDIU) recently was honored with the First Prize for the Best Website Award of 2010 under the ‘University College and Private University’ category; an award reviewed by the Ministry of Education. A total of 39 University College and Private University participated in the competition. The University’s management expressed its deepest gratitude to all the individuals who has worked towards this achievement and praised the constant support of all the staffs for their hard work and dedication to rise and to secure leading positions in all fields of knowledge to become leaders and beacons of light to the new world.

This award ceremony was presented by Y.Bhg. Datuk Ab. Rahim Bin Md. Noor; Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education(MOHE) and witness by Y.Bhg. Datuk Haji Omar bin Abd.Rahman; Deputy Secretary General(Management) and Y.Bhg.Dato’ Rohani Binti Abdullah; Deputy Secretary General(Development) was held in Putrajaya Commemoration Hall on Tuesday, May 3 2011. The award presentation reflects the honor to the University’s for its constant effort in supporting and enforcing the technological infrastructure while providing educational services using advanced technologies for the benefit of its students and public.

The evaluation of the competition is based on several factors such as the bilingual interface, ease of browsing, external links access, student services, connection with social websites, supportive technology, along with the quality of design and overall design presentation.

The Launch of MEDIU E-Magazine

Al-Madinah International University (MEDIU) launches its debut of “MEDIU E-Magazine” with the international criteria and standards on the University’s website recently. The E-Magazine will publish researches on various specialized studies that represent the University’s goal of trying to increase the volume of different scientific knowledge. It also encourages students from MEDIU and other universities to put more efforts in research and publishing their work while dealing with a number of modern issues that demand objective scientific research and connect it in a way that helps the Islamic society.

World Wide Web Domination Win is Malaysia’s Gain

The award-winning website team does it again and every time they score on the international stage they bring glory not only to the world’s creativity University but also to Malaysia for online creativity and innovation.

The young creators of the Limkokwing official website, World Wide Web Domination (W3D), is on the roll again by taking home 18 international awards over the last two months, probably the only university web in the country to do so with such regularity.

The awards are all the more significant because they are from established US-based organisations known for their high standards and criteria.

The judges who are industry professionals picked the Limkokwing University website based on design, innovation content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and functionality, and the awards are a testimony that clearly reflects Malaysia’s sophistication for producing outstanding multimedia products and services.

Young, talented and savvy

W3D is dominated by dedicated team players who are all alumni below 30 years of age and for them winning is all in a day’s to come up with some amazing stuff.

Along the way, these young men and women have placed the country on the same pedestal as world-class names such as DreamWorks, Paramount, Levi’s, Walt Disney, Nissan, Pizza Hut, FIAT, Hewlett-Packard, Alcatel Lucent, Mattel, Pepsi, MTV, Samsung, Yahoo! among other distinguished brands.

W3D comes under the able command of Dato’ Timothy Lim Kok Wing Jr who is a computer wizard in his own right. Working closely with the University Founder President, Timothy handles the day-to-day management of the outfit, which also includes conceptualization, content creation and direction of the creative team.

Winning streak

Since 2009, Limkokwing University has won 30 more international awards again proving that Malaysia has the talents, resources and professionalism to create great online work of international standards.

Recently, the World Wide Web Domination again proved that have what it takes to be an award-winning web team when they won two Outstanding Achievement Awards under the Education category in the 2011 Interactive Media Awards (IMA) for the Limkokwing Community Portal and iPhone Applications.

The second highest honour bestowed by IMA, it was based on specific criteria: design, content, feature functionality, usability and standards compliance and cross-browser compatibility. The Limkokwing Community Portal and iPhone Applications received an overall score of 464 from a maximum of 500 points.

Worldwide hit

The University’ official website is probably the such portal in Malaysia or in the world to register over 200 million hits annually from 220 countries and territories worldwide, or one that is yet to be matched by others.

This amazing achievement is again to the credit of the Limkokwing web team that is fast changing the landscape of the online skyline through their passion and creativity to excel in the field, and bring home more international awards so it may also be Malaysia’ gain too.

With more than 40 international awards showcasing their performance since 2009, the World Wide Web Domination is already strategising yet another global award, soon.

Limkokwing students showcase innovative mobile applications at Nokia event in Singapore

Limkokwing team at the Nokia Connection Showcase 2011 held in Singapore last month. They displayed several mobile applications such as MathsFrenzy and Otokhanta among other innovations.

Nokia gave Limkokwing students the rare opportunity to showcase their mobile applications at the prestigious Nokia Connection Showcase 2011 held recently in Singapore from 21st June to 24th June.

Four students and three lecturers from the Faculty of Information & Communication Technology (FICT) and Faculty of Multimedia Creativity (FMC) respectively made the trip across the causeway to represent Limkokwing University of Creative Technology at Marina Bay Sands where ten entries were presented before the select committee of judges from Nokia.

The students - Edwin Koh Boon San, Harry Kho Yong Hua, Yong Cheng Fei and Theodorus Christian - impressed the judges with their ingenious creations. 

Ingenious ideas

One of the entries, MathsFrenzy, developed by Edwin and Harry is a mathematical game aimed at kids to develop their thinking and reasoning skills through questions on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. 

To date, MathsFrenzy has fetched over 48,107 downloads, which indicates the potential of the application.

The Limkokwing booth drew a steady flow of IT enthusiasts from all over the world. The University provides avenues for student creativity to help them explore new ideas to reinvent the industry.

Another version of the game - Otokohanta - produced by the Faculty’s Yong and Theodorus has since garnered more than 120,000 downloads. This is a simple shooting game developed in FlashLite comprising five different levels with each stage featuring exciting characters and backgrounds. 

Smart, profitable applications

SmartKids is another interesting application for children below five years of age. Developed by Rebecca and Kevin Ragui, it features maths quiz flash cards, alphabets, shapes and colour charts to provide toddlers with simple basics of arithmetic. 

The applications are attractive because of their usability in providing services and one example is the rapidKL LRT Route Finder, a widget that provides encoded traveling schedules and ticket fares besides calculating the time of traveling to help users plan better. 

Other intelligent applications include: Cornea Digital Eye Centre, Vitamin Widget, 1 Malaysia Language, Mobicar, Quick Qibla and Cook-Lah! 

Special invitation

In selecting these students, Nokia was acknowledging the creativity of Limkokwing students in general. According to Nokia “this showcase opportunity is extremely rare for universities. We seldom get students to showcase at any such Nokia major event”.

Recently Limkokwing University signed a MoU with Nokia Pte Ltd for the development of mobile platforms, training of staff and students as well as widgets creation.

Through the MoU, Nokia gave a financial grant of USD$15,000 (RM48,000) to help Limkokwing in the field of widgets development and the University’s presence at the Nokia Connection Showcase 2011 is ample testimony of progress made.

Creative freedom

Limkokwing University Vice President of Corporate Relations, Dato’ Fajura Juffa Mohd Kamal is optimistic of the partnership between Limkokwing and Nokia.

“We like to provide avenues for student creativity and this arrangement with Nokia creates an exciting platform and provides highly potential prospects for students to fully explore the medium that is becoming a primary vehicle for communication”. 

Malaysia Digital Innovation Centre takes learning to a new dimension

Dato Seri Khaled Nordin executing a ‘touch screen’ launch of the Malaysia Digital Innovation Centre watched by University President Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing and Dato’ Timothy Lim Jr, Head of the World Wide Web Domination, the University’s official website, which attracted over 200 million hits from 220 countries and territories annually.

Technology keeps changing, accelerating with new provisions that shorten the time we take to do things. Today we can actually print a book within a few minutes and we can immediately capture a video in 3D format. For those wanting to build interesting ways to connect with their target audiences these technologies open the door for unlimited creativity.

Every year something new hits the market and starts a consumer frenzy.

So while industries grapple with the means to beat the competition with new gimmicks and advertising, they need skills to manage the new technology and create the content they seek. 

The Limkokwing University has created new partnerships with high end digital technology providers through a new initiative called the Malaysia Digital Innovation Centre.

Bringing industry into university

Already embedded within the University is INDUSITY – a revolutionary concept that merges the best of the University with the best of the Industry to bring innovative knowledge, skills and application to Limkokwing students right into the campus.

MDIC too works along this creative pathway by working closely with the Ministry of Higher Education with the mission to raise the standards and quality of the nation’s education system, which is to produce high calibre human capital to move industry up the value chain.

From middle income to high income

The Centre’s thrust responds to the Prime Minister’s transformation programme, which places high priority on education as the vehicle to move from middle-income to high income status by 2020.

Minister of Higher Education Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, in launching the Centre recently, envisioned MDIC as an excellent “infrastructure” to push the migration of skilled talents into the industry.

The Higher Education Minister being ‘crooned’ by the Limkokwing International Choir lead singer, Siti Hasreena Rosli soon after the official launch of the centre. Others in the picture include Tan Sri Lim and senior University officials.

“I believe that a world-class digital infrastructure like this is fundamental and part of the ecosystem to support an innovation-led economy, which has become the aspiration of Malaysia today. Its strong focus on innovation will definitely take education to a new level as it provides the vehicle designed to connect the high end of digital technology to creativity and content creation.”

Taking creativity to new levels

The creation of MDIC is in direct response to the Prime Minister’s call for norm-breaking efforts to engineer human capital that is wired to the future. For over 20 years, the University has played a pivotal role in promoting creativity and innovation as the engine of progress for the country, a role it continues with breakthrough ideas much like the digital innovation centre. 

Dato’ Seri Khaled, a strong advocate of creativity and innovation, believes quality human capital is the way to make the government’s transformation policy a success.

“In today’s world, this has to be done by intensifying the nation’s knowledge and innovation capability. In today’s world, knowledge and innovation have become the keys to progress and growth. Knowledge increasingly defines the line between wealth and poverty and between human fulfillment and poverty. A country which is able to mobilise and spread knowledge can rise rapidly to new levels of development, help its citizens to prosper and more importantly, education is considered as the most important component in the dissemination of innovation.’

Designing the future

MDIC is timely considering Malaysia’s efforts to propel creativity and innovation in every sphere of its development process, particularly in the local digital industry. It caters for those with a passion to acquire the best in digital technology and who want to be future-ready to handle new industry challenges taking place with every tick of the clock. 

The innovation Centre offers internationally-recognised digital-friendly programmes:

• Digital Imaging
• Interactive & Multimedia Design
• Animation & Multimedia Design
• Digital e-Games
• Design Innovation
• Visual Communication
• Web Design & Technology
• Creative Multimedia
• Sonic Design
• Digital Film & Television
• Digital Communication

Stimulating environment

The Malaysia Digital Innovation Centre houses state-of-the-art training facilities including:

• High tech computer incubation rooms
• Training and lecture theatres
• 3D LED screen
• Exhibition and conference
• Corporate boardroom
• Reception lounge and business facilities
• Olympic-size swimming pool.

“This University is possibly the world’s largest digital content training facility. For this reason, this campus has become a talent hub for some of the brightest brains in the world. Here, high tech accelerators are created to generate high end products and services that are second to none in the country.”

Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Lim Kok Wing,
Founder President of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology
In his address at the launch of MDIC at the Cyberjaya campus, 18 July 2011

Discover MDIC

The Malaysia Digital Innovation Centre is one such accelerator to nurture the most imaginative and creative minds for creative industries, where essential test-beds are built to create new innovations for wealth-generation
.

Online Distance Learning | UMS, Asia E-University Sign MoU

KOTA KINABALU : Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) will embark on another milestone in the academic field with the signing of a MoU with Asia e-University (AeU) yesterday.


The MoU will encourage the expansion of the university's online distance learning programme globally in the higher education sector with AeU as a gateway university to develop and expand the programme, hence generating impact towards the national economy.


UMS 's vice chancellor, Vice chancellor, Prof Datuk Dr Kamaruzaman Haji Ampon said this at the signing here.


The university, he said, aimed to increase the intake of international students, to enhance academic reputation of UMS and other institutions of higher learning as well as to contribute to economic growth.


Dr Kamaruzaman also said the signing of the MoU signified the importance and participation of UMS in the entry point projects " also known as EPP6 of the NKEA under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).


Th e AeU, he added, has been commissioned by the government to embark on EPP6 through collaborations with higher institutions of higher learning in Malaysia to promote online distance learning.


"Every institution is required to identify and develop two online distance learning programmes by the end of 2011 and to realise this initiative, we are happy to collaborate with AeU, working together in smart partnership to market and further strengthen our postgraduate Masters programmes as well as reaching out to potential international students worldwide," he said.


As initaitial collaboration with AeU, Dr Kamaruzaman said two such programme had been identified " Master of Human Capital Management and Master in Education Management.


Meanwhile, he said as a higher learning institution, UMS has not only been gearing itself towards the vital role of producing competent human resource but it also aimed to position itself as a premier research and innovation university.


At the MoU signing yesterday, the AeU was represented by its president Prof Dato' Dr Ansary Ahmed.

UMS-UTem Tingkat Kerjasama ICT

UM and UPM Enhance Learning Facilities and Empower Student Lives with 4G Mobile Internet

Kuala Lumpur, 13 September 2010 – Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Malaya (UM) today joined the Education Partner Program (EPP) spearheaded by YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Comms). Under the program, both universities will apply the power of 4G Mobile Internet campus-wide to give their students cutting-edge learning facilities and further enhance the quality of life on campus for both students and academic staff.

UM plans to utilise YTL's 4G Campus-wide Network to boost research activities and be among the top 100 universities in the world

UPM and UM are the third and fourth local university respectively to join the EPP program in the last two months after UTM and UTAR. All twenty of Malaysia’s public universities and selected private universities are expected to join the program by the end of the year.

“We want the students to access our enterprise, learning and research services from anywhere and at anytime and therefore we are pleased to partner with YTL Comms to give our students the freedom and the convenience of 4G Mobile Internet,” said Professor Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Nik Mustapha R. Abdullah, Vice Chancellor of UPM.

“We champion the model of Ubiquitous Learning at UPM. This means learning whatever, whenever, wherever. We call it www-learning, which is, incidentally, the way the real Internet should be, too”, said Associate Professor Dr. Suhaimi Napis, CTO and Director, InfoComm Development Centre (iDEC), UPM.

The Ubiquitous Learning Environment (ULE) at UPM, the brainchild of Dr. Suhaimi, relies on the Malaysian Research and Education Network (MYREN), a high-capacity broadband network that connects universities, colleges, research organisations and scientific laboratories. UPM was one of the founding proposers of this dedicated network that provides a platform for creating research communities and encourages them to exchange ideas and collaborate with international partners.

YTL's 4G Campus-wide Network is set to take UPM's model of Ubiquitous Learning Environment (ULE) even further

While UPM’s ubiquitous learning model relies on MYREN as the foundation, the university also has a number of cloud services that can support blended learning – a mixture of remote and on-premise education. For example, the video collaboration services, 1VideoBridge, make live virtual classes possible, with up to 160 laptops, desktops and other compatible devices connected at one time, where students can interact with the lecturer and each other. We also have uCast, modelled after a popular video-sharing portal to facilitate video-on-demand.

“All this innovation that supports the ubiquitous learning model can’t be fully harnessed by the students without high speed Internet access that is available everywhere and from any device,” said Dr. Suhaimi. “The power of 4G Mobile Internet will create new ways for education to be delivered and we are already working with YTL Comms to enable interoperability between our learning and research cloud services and all platforms, including new Android-based devices, which we are eager to explore.” He added.

Under the EPP partnership, each student will receive FREE converged data and voice services of 300 megabytes per user, on a monthly basis over a period of 3 years at anytime and from anywhere throughout the campus grounds. On top of that, the students will be able to top up their accounts at special student rates.

“UM is currently rated the top ranking university in Malaysia, but it is our mission to see UM among the top 100 universities in the world in the next five years. Our partnership with YTL Comms and participation in the EPP program is a major milestone towards realising this vision,” said Datuk Dr. Ghauth Jasmon, Vice Chancellor of UM.

UM sees 4G Mobile Internet as a perfect tool to enhance students’ lives on campus, too. “The combination of 4G Broadband & Voice service under one account is a great value proposition to our students. When every ringgit needs to be stretched, it helps that our students can use their 300 megabytes of free broadband to make free phone calls, too. Considering that the majority of their calls are made to friends and colleagues on campus, the savings they will be able to realize are substantial,” elaborated Dr. David Asirvatham, Director, Center for Information Technology, UM.

UM is Malaysia’s first public university and a Research University, as designated by the Government. As such, UM actively spearheads a number of research-intensive projects in ICT and Computational Sciences, Biotechnology and Bioproducts, and Health and Translational Medicine in which it applies the power of Grid Computing. However, due to the current bandwidth limitations, the Grid Computing can only extend to the servers at the time being.

“With the superior performance of 4G, that delivers connectivity in megabits instead of the kilobits we currently get with 3G, the power of grid computing can easily extend all the way to desktops and devices, too, significantly improving our research process,” added Dr. David.

“We are very impressed with UPM’s and UM’s vision to create superior academic environments and we are extremely pleased to be their partner in realising this vision,” said Yasmin Mahmood, Executive Director, YTL Communications. “We are building a better Internet for everyone, a 4G Mobile Internet network that truly empowers all people, and we want our students, the leaders of a better tomorrow, to be the first to experience this most advanced Internet technology available today.